Mugabe Controversy Won't Sway Blatter, FIFA

Earlier this week, Peter Godwin wrote this scathing editorial in the New York Times about South African president Thabo Mbeki's implicit support of Robert Mugabe's repressive regime in Zimbabwe, which sits on the northern border of South Africa.

As Godwin wrote, Mugabe has rigged elections and used torture and death squads to remain in power in Zimbabwe. While the rest of the world wishes to delegitimize Mugabe's regime, Mbeki has quietly supported it. He was photographed here with Mugabe on an official visit to Zimbabwe -- reportedly while some of Mugabe's opponents were being tortured or killed. What's more, South Africa has a seat on the United Nations Security Council, and Mbeki has blocked all attempts to put the situation in Zimbabwe on the agenda.

Godwin's solution is to threaten to pull the 2010 FIFA World Cup from the country. He suggests that protests to FIFA could apply some political pressure to Mbeki to stop supporting Mugabe.

Apparently, Mr. Godwin is entirely unfamiliar with FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

In 2002, Blatter was accused by then-FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen of wide-ranging corruption charges, including false accounting practices and blatant conflict of interest. Much of Zen-Ruffinen's 30-page report centered on the spectacular $300 million collapse of ISL, FIFA's marketing partner.

When Blatter halted an internal FIFA investigation into these claims six weeks before his re-election, his opponents cried foul and claimed it was proof of his guilt. Yet Blatter was re-elected president in May of 2002, and he promptly sacked Zen-Ruffinen as general secretary.

In 2006, British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings published the book Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals. This book detailed widespread corruption within FIFA, including an alleged cash-for-contracts scandal at ISL and Blatter's blatant use of vote-rigging to remain president. Blatter had the book banned in Switzerland, where FIFA is based, claiming it contained many libelous claims. Harper Collins stood by Jennings' work.

And Peter Godwin thinks Sepp Blatter might allow the World Cup to be influenced by the cries of protesters?

Please. South Africa can enable Mugabe's murderous regime however it wants, as far as Blatter is concerned. The only way the 2010 World Cup gets moved is if the checks start bouncing.